PLACERVILLE (CBS13) – Authorities are looking for the person who allegedly kicked a dog out of their car on Highway 50 and sped off.

The incident happened Sunday evening along the westbound side of the freeway at the Greenstone Road exit.

According to California Highway Patrol’s Placerville division, a witness saw a car slow down – then saw someone kick the dog out. The car then sped off.

An officer was able to get to the scene quickly and rescued the dog before anything worse could happen.

“Not sure what would bring someone to abandoning an innocent dog on a freeway. We will reserve further comment on that,” CHP Placerville wrote on Facebook. “If you can no longer care for your pet there are many places to safely surrender and find a new home for them. The freeway is not one of those places.”

The dog and the officer who rescued him have become fast friends, CHP says.

CHP is now looking for whoever may have abandoned the dog. The vehicle it was kicked out of has only been described as a white van. Anyone who has information about the dog and who may have abandoned it is asked to call authorities at (916) 861-1300.